Takenouchi Sora
by Chrish
Summary: An accident happens. Will it bring Sora and her mother closer together or farther apart?


                                (A/N: I made up Sora's grandfather, the other names are real and were obtained from Megchan's MB, I also don't know if the Takenouchis use silverware.)

                                She found out a day after it had occurred. She had just arrived home from a date with Yamato Ishida, her recent boyfriend, whom Taichi had begun to dislike ever since they shared their first kiss. As soon as Yamato had left, she had gone inside her home (of course). Her mother, Toshiko Takenouchi, sat at a small chair next to a table, which had a letter on top.

                                "Hi, Mom.  I'm home," her cheerful voice rang as she walked into the living room, where her mother had retired. "Is... Uh... Something wrong, Mom?" She cocked her head, confused by the emotional look on her face. Small tears were visible as they trickled down her cheeks. "Sora, please come here," her mother said.

                                Sora silently walked over to her mother, taking a seat in a small arm chair across from her. "What is it?" She asked, anxious for the news, which she had figured to be sad. Her mother sat in silence, staring at Sora's face. More tears came. Finally she broke the silence.

                                "Sora...Your father. He and a couple of the men he had worked with were taking a trip to visit their families here in Odaiba. On their way, Sora… Well, there was an _accident involving another vehicle," the woman could barely talk without gagging._

                                 "Your father, and three of the other four men were killed. Your father and the driver instantly.. The others, save one, were burned up when the car flipped down the road and bursted into of flames. The survivor had flew through the windshield when the collision had taken place..."

                                Sora all of a sudden wanted to burst into tears as well. Her eyes watered. She tried to hold back the tears, but she just couldn't. _Her father, Sora Takenouchi's father, was dead. He had died trying to visit __her. She felt guilty as well. Her now non-gloved hands clutched her face as the tears finally freed themselves from the irritated eyes. _

                                "No! It can't be.." Sora continued crying. She couldn't believe it. But deep down she knew he _was dead. He was gone. He would never rush into the door for a visit, calling out her name, taking her into his strong arms. Never again..._

                                Even though Sora hadn't known her father as much as her mother, she had still loved him. She knew that her mother and her father weren't in love with each other. But her mother, not wanting to destroy a tradition, had made sure they stayed married, never to break their vows. Now she was free of that tradition, but she didn't seem happy.

                                Takenouchi Sora knew she was crying more for her than she was for her husband. She knew how much Sora had loved her father, but she also knew how she disliked him as well. Sora was angered when he left to go on his job, which took him to a different area of Japan. She wanted to kick at him. Holler at him.  She had wanted to die... But in the end, she had finally forgiven him; after all, he _was her father._

                                "Oh, Sora," Mrs. Takenouchi rushed to her daughter, embracing her tightly. Sora wanted to protest against it, but when she tried to speak, she felt the dryness of her throat, which stopped the words before they ever came out. Sora slowly wrapped her arms around her mother. She hadn't hugged for a long time. Ever since she was a small girl, before she had fallen in love with soccer and other things the world had provided.

                                                                                It felt good.

                                                                "The funeral.." Her mother began, "It's this Friday at two. You can miss school that day," Toshiko clung tighter to her daughter, as though she was supporting her.

                                                The two both flooded the house until the funeral came.

                                                                                                                *

                                At the funeral, there were many people. Most were dressed in black, and crying, or at least  pretending to cry just so they could get in on the small luncheon afterwards. Sora realized she was the only child there. She saw relatives, but all of them were years older. Her grandfather, Takenouchi Kesuke, who was a short man, stood solemnly next to the tombstone, which read "Takenouchi Haruhiko," balanced only by a small walking stick.

                                Everything was sad about this day. The sky was a dark black, and looked as thought it would release pounds of rain any minute. Toshiko Takenouchi stood solemnly next to her, staring at the grave with watery eyes. She knew Sora was taking this hard. "Sora, why don't you go say hello to your grandfather over there, you haven't seen him for a long time."

                                Sora gave a weak smile to her mother, and then moved through the small crowd over to her grandfather, who was almost half her size. She patted the elderly man on his shoulder. "Hello, grandfather." The old man turned, giving a small smile. "Why hello, Toshiko." 

                                "Uh, my name is Sora, grandpa, not Toshiko. That's my mother's name," Sora frowned.

                                "Oh, yes, yes. It is you." The old man smiled, then turned back towards the grave, as though staring at it might bring his deceased son back.

                                Takenouchi Sora walked back to her mother, who was almost in hysterics now. "Mom," she wrapped her arm around her, "it's okay. Everything will be okay mom. You'll see. Everything will be fine.. Just fine." Sora desperately tried to reassure her mother. Tears fought her eyes as well, but she had sobbed enough over the weekend so that there were only enough tears left to dampen her eyes.

                                Minutes later, rain slowly began to sprinkle down on the crowd. Some people moaned in disgust and retreated to their cars. Probably the ones who were in it just to get lunch, Sora thought, letting the rain hit against the dark dress she wore. 

                                Before long, thunder began to rumble and the rain became harder. Now, even relatives began to retreat back to the safety of their cars. But Sora, her grandfather, and her mother all stayed. When she looked up to her mother, she saw her praying, something she had barely ever seen her do.

                                Sora and her mother were completely soaked before they left the grave of the loved one. When they reached their vehicle, Sora's mother opened her door, grabbing two towels, which, for some reason unknown to Sora were in the back. She spread them over the two front seats, and then gestured for Sora to get in the car. Sora did, and she followed.

                                They drove home in complete silence. The windshield wipers fought to keep the windshield free of rain droplets. Sora occasionally glanced at her mother, who stared blankly at the street as she drove. The rain beating against the car lightened, and then grew heavy again.

                                When the Takenouchis arrived home, they solemnly went inside without talking. They both changed into some dryer clothes and Mrs. Takenouchi started supper. While she was cooking the rice and rolls, Sora walked into the living room, taking a seat at the couch. Deep down inside she still felt sad. She still wanted to cry. She also wanted to die like she had when her father had left her the first time. 

                                                Now he had left her for good.

                                All through her early childhood, when her father didn't have a job that took him to other places, Sora had loved being around her father more than her mother. When she was young, she saw her mother as a monster that couldn't love. Things between them worsened much more after her father had left and she had wanted to attend a big game her team was playing. Toshiko hadn't let her go.

                                _She never let me have any fun when I was little._

                                Sora Takenouchi had always held a grudge against her mother since that day, but after going to the Digital World and meeting Piyomon (Biyomon), things had changed between them. Piyomon had helped her to realize her mother wasn't that bad of person at all, and that she was doing all her actions out of love. 

                                Yes, Sora had worked at the shop and forgiven her mother because of that, but she never forgave her mother for what she had done to make her father leave...

                                When Sora was about four or so, she had heard her parents talking in the kitchen. It was about 10:00 P.M. Little Sora crept out of her bed, fearing the storm which had begun hours earlier and was now getting worse. Her father, who was about thirty-one at the time, and her mother, about the same age began to yell at each other. The yelling grew louder and louder...

                                "If you wouldn't cheat on me I wouldn't have to be mad!"

                                "I don't cheat on you, Toshiko! That's bull!"

                                "Well, then what is this?!" Her mother had held up a paper, which she could still clearly remember had a woman's name on it, followed by a phone number.

                                "That's a lady from my job!"

                                "Why should I believe you, Haruhiko? Why?!"

                                The small and scared little girl had ran back into her room, not wanting to hear another word. She had never saw her parents fight like that before. Within a week, Haruhiko Takenouchi had found another job, which involved traveling all over the place. Traveled to different cities, to different people. He had kissed her good-bye before he had left. She remembered it all so clearly.

                                "Supper is done, Sora," came her mother's voice from the kitchen.

                                Sora was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the voice. She slowly got up from where she was sitting and stomped into the kitchen like a little girl. When she entered the kitchen, the warm aroma of seasoned rice filled her. She gazed at the food which lie sat out on the table before her. She had to admit, it _did look delicious._

                                "Is something wrong, Sora?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked, pulling out her chair and taking a seat.

                                "No, mother," Sora said, annoyed by the question.

                                She took her seat across from her mother. Her mother gave a small smile at her, then took a piece of silverware from one side of her plate and began to eat. Sora was tempted to eat her food, but something inside her stopped her. Then, all of a sudden, Sora involuntarily let out a moan, and began to cry instantly. She didn't know why, but she just cried and cried. She couldn't stop.

                                The tears rolled down her cheeks faster then they ever had before. Her eyes burned and turned a terrible red. She kept on sobbing and sobbing. She cuffed her face and tried to stop it, but couldn't. "It's your fault!" She screamed. "It's ALL your fault!"

                                "What's all my fault?" Toshiko stood up from her seat, walking over to her daughter.  
  


                                "You made him get the new job! You made him go around the country! You made him die! If it weren't for you two fighting that night, he would've never taken that job and would be right here, right now, ALIVE!" Sora screamed, wailing her arms.

                                "What? What are you talking about? Sora..." Toshiko began. 

                                Sora ignored what her mother said and got up, running to her room, "I hate you!" 

                                She heard the door slam.

                                Takenouchi Toshiko frowned. What fight? She thought. She couldn't remember any fight she had ever had with Haruhiko, except one. Toshiko sighed and walked towards her daughter's room. When she reached the door, before she even knocked, she heard a voice: "Go away. Leave me alone."

                                Mrs. Takenouchi sighed, but, without asking, opened the door and walked inside the room. Sora lay sprawled on her bed, sobbing hard. "Sora, are you talking about the fight that we had about a week before your father got that new job?" She asked.

                                "Yes!" Sora flipped over. "You made him get that new job! You made him die!"

                                "No, Sora, I did not. We made up after that fight, you just weren't there. Afterwards, about a few days, he was offered another job from a company that paid more. So, wanting to be able to support us better, he took it. Then he found out he'd be going to another place to work."

                                Sora looked up at her mother, rubbing her eyes. "Ruh-ruh-really?" She asked skeptically, not really believing it entirely. "Really, Sora," her mother said, smiling. "So it wasn't your fault... I always thought it was your fault… I… I'm sorry, mom. I'm so sorry for all the mean remarks I've ever said to you. I'm so sorry how I've ever been mad at you or said I've hated you..." Sora began to cry again.

                                Toshiko Takenouchi sighed and walked over to her young daughter, taking a seat next to her. "Sora, it's okay. Everyone gets mad sometimes. You just... Well, got mad more often. But it's okay, Sora. I still love you. You're my favorite daughter!"

                                "Hey! You only have _one daughter," Sora smiled._

                                "Yes, I know. And she's the best one anyone could ever have."

                                The two embraced in a long hug.

                                "Now, let's get back to the kitchen before dinner gets cold," Toshiko smiled at her daughter as they got up from the bed and headed out of Sora's room...

                                Perhaps, now, as she thought about it, the death of her father had brought her closer to her mother. Sora was ashamed that she was glad that this had happened. But she was also happy. Very happy.

                                                                                The End.                                


End file.
